A Blaine County resident is facing up to 14 years in state prison for allegedly admitting to keeping cocaine and morphine pills in his company vehicle.
Jeremy Ryan Hellmann, 44, of Picabo, was traveling north in a white Ford van near the intersection of state Highway 75 and Elkhorn Road around 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 20 when he side-swiped a northbound Sun Valley patrol vehicle, causing it to crash into a snowbank, according to a press release from the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office and a probable-cause for arrest affidavit from Sheriff’s Deputy Alek McFarland.
The Sun Valley police officer reported that Hellmann appeared “intoxicated” and had drifted into his lane prior to the collision, McFarland stated. The patrol vehicle was moderately damaged, but neither driver was injured.
According to McFarland’s report, Hellmann allegedly informed the police officer that he had “dozed off” prior to the crash and later admitted in a written statement that he had “swerved and [run] into the snowbank, not realizing that he had crashed into a police officer.”
Following the crash, the officer allegedly observed drug paraphernalia in the van “when the driver’s side door to Jeremy’s vehicle opened” and “a small glass pipe fell out and hit the ground,” McFarland stated.
“[The officer] then searched Jeremy and found two more small glass pipes on his person. When he asked about the pipes Jeremy stated they were for smoking [crack] cocaine,” McFarland wrote. “I asked Jeremy when he last smoked and he informed me that he smoked at approximately 2 or 3 [a.m.] to keep him awake through work.”
McFarland said that all three pipes appeared to have some kind of residue on the inside and turned up a presumptive positive result when field tested for cocaine. Another deputy searched Hellmann’s vehicle and allegedly recovered more drug paraphernalia with residue and a “small, unlabeled pill bottle” that contained two morphine pills. Hellmann allegedly confirmed the pills were morphine and said he was “saving them” due to a medical condition, McFarland wrote.
Altogether, the cocaine residue on the pipes and paraphernalia weighed in at 7.2 grams, according to the report. Hellmann also allegedly provided a breath sample that showed no alcohol intoxication, but failed field-sobriety testing due to drug intoxication, McFarland said.
Based upon signs of impairment, Hellmann was transported to the Blaine County Detention Center, where Sheriff’s Office Drug Recognition Expert Sgt. Matt Reichert “concluded that there was central nervous system depressant and a central nervous system stimulant present in Jeremy’s body,” McFarland wrote.
Hellmann was arraigned in Magistrate Court on Jan. 23, after which he posted $5,000 bond. As a condition of his release, he must report to his probation officer for a “high” level of drug and alcohol testing, Judge Jennifer Haemmerle ruled.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for the afternoon of Feb. 7, 2023, in front of Judge Daniel Dolan. 
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